Barcelona ace Messi not thinking about personal feats after breaking 200-goal mark with hat-trick in 4-1 win over Plzen
Barcelona ace Messi not thinking about personal feats after breaking 200-goal mark with hat-trick in 4-1 win over Plzen
ADVERTISEMENT
Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-0 win at Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on Tuesday night to break the 200-goal mark for the Catalan club, but says he is not thinking about the all-time record held by Cesar Rodriguez.
Sublime: Barca ace Messi celebrates after scoring during Tuesday's
4-0 win over Plzen. PIC/AFP
The Argentine came into the match on 199 goals and reached his double century as he converted a penalty midway through the first half, before netting a fine second just before the interval. Cesc Fabregas then added another and Messi rounded off the scoring right at the end with his second successive hat-trick to make it 202 goals in Barca colours -- and 22 already this season. With this win Barca booked a spot in the last 16. "I am happy with the game, the result and to have got the 200 goals, but more than anything because of the result," the Argentine told TVE straight after the game. "It was difficult because of the state of the pitch, because they pressed hard and committed fouls, but we did well."
Messi is now only 33 strikes behind Barca's all-time top goalscorer Cesar, who hit 235 between 1939 and 1955, but says the team is his only focus. "It's not my objective (to pass Cesar's record)," he explained. "I will just try and carry on helping the team to win and to score goals." Messi's first goal for the Spanish giants came with a delicate lob after he was set up by Ronaldinho in a 2-0 win over Albacete in May of 2005, when he was just 17 years, 10 months and seven days old.
Records galore
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Victor Valdes also wrote his name into the record booksas he broke Miguel Reina's record of 824 minutes without conceding. Coach Pep Guardiola also oversaw his 200th game in charge on the night.
"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels 
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
